Oxfam assists communities affected by Jakarta floods – Australian aid workers available for interview

International agency Oxfam is providing assistance to people affected by flooding that has hit the greater Jakarta area since 1 February 2007. Oxfam Australia has deployed Jane Bean and Ben Fraser to Jakarta to join the relief effort.
It is estimated that more than 300,000 people were left homeless after days of torrential rain that killed at least 25 people, according to Government sources. The devastation caused by the flooding has been the worst in five years with more heavy rain forecast for the next two weeks.
“While the water levels are now receding there is still a high risk of outbreak of diseases such as diarrhoea. We need to act quickly to ensure that people have safe water sources and that those who have not been reached yet receive much needed assistance,” says Jane Bean, Oxfam Australia’s Emergency Public Health Coordinator.
Oxfam, in collaboration with its local partners Bahari and LPTP, has quickly put together an emergency assistance programme to aid some 30,000 people in the Jakarta and Tangerang areas.
“To add value to the government’s intervention, Oxfam and partners will focus on providing assistance to areas where people have received little or no assistance to date,” Jane Bean added.
Oxfam has commenced its relief work as follows:
Distribution of 6,000 Hygiene Kits
Distribution of 6,000 Plastic Sheets
Distribution of Clean-up Kits
Provision of dignity kits (women’s & men’s underwear) and sarongs 
Doing assessments for an emergency water supply for about 30,000 people / 6,000 households
Doing assessments for provision of emergency latrines, either mobile or public latrines
The initial project will be carried out over 6-8 weeks. Oxfam is currently assessing the medium-term needs of communities and may extend its initial programme to address these.
For further information or an interview please call: Marlene McIntyre +61 (0)407 515 559